'My office is nicer than your office'
Let’s talk office and workspace design.
(By the way, Build Built is expanding it’s physical location! We hope to include our community on this adventure, so get plugged in!)
We visited the National Design Centre’s latest exhibit: The Office, Disrupted: Redesigning the Workplace in a Time of Change.
The exhibit told stories of the office’s long history and how things came to be. It also displayed sleek and sophisticated office ware: adjustable screens, ergonomic chairs and noise cancellation pods.
An intriguing installation at NDC’s latest exhibition..or an abstract view of what workplace design’s landscape looks like now.
As a design and build company, Build Built requires a vibrant economy where businesses acquire space to have them filled with people and things. Without office spaces being designed and built for them, designers and office builders will have an existential crisis.
Covid-19 and the probability of future pandemics might not go away any time soon. The situation is desperate, but we (responsible designers) cannot vouch that with a stylish looking pantry, employees will surely come pouring back into the office, feel safe, and be productive.
Automatic desks with cup warmers and dare I say, office spaces are, and should not be a priority now.
That said, we believe that office spaces will always have a future within the work domain. Humans require interaction. Since the dawn of time, we’ve hunted in packs, and we survive better within tribes. A sense of belonging and to take root in a space we call home will give us the ability to reach out farther and push into the outer limits because we know that there is a solid base to return to for shelter. In short, offices will not wither and die out any time soon.
A Kickstarter project at joindesign.co
The fundamental need of a business owner is a productive and performing team, not an office space.
Ask any business owner today. They would rather not pay rent. They would rather not have an office space.
We recognize that the approach to having a productive and performing team should be a holistic solution, not just a clubhouse-like-office-space with gyms and foosball tables. An office space should be a peripheral to the work infrastructure, not the core to the success of a business (people are!).
An office space should be used to enhance collaboration and creativity, culture and convenience.
Query the job seeker - what are your top 3 priorities when looking for a new workplace. The talent’s answer (if talented) is never ‘a swag office space with hotter desking, and a unisex rest room’. Admittedly, the workplace as a physical environment, is a huge expression of the business’ brand, and represents intention to people who walks through the entrances. But where does this live on the priority ladder of our future workforce? Work culture, flexibility, purpose, relationships and progression reside on the top rungs of your talent’s priority ladder. A great workspace environment with top-of-the-line office devices are a consequence of the above.
A swanky empty office at Shake Shack Corporate Headquarters | Bergmeyer | Archinect
Covid-19 has certainly changed the mode of work, but the demands of performance and productivity still remains.
But now, without the office. For stakeholders to design and build these swanky offices, the competition is not each other, but new-old entrants that have always been laying in plain sight, but under covers. Covid-19 has merely pulled the sheets away.
Implementing thoughtful design through the workspace can help elevate work life, and propel productivity and performance.
Before we explore workspace design, we should investigate the inherent nature of the work itself. Is the mission of the business a purposeful one? Are the organization’s values upheld? Objectives clear? People policies sound? If so, we can then start to plan for an office space that reflects the company’s vision.
Let’s spotlight some threats, and how the office might start to become redundant.
Offices will cease to exist or decrease in size due to:
Technology: Hardware, and the latency of the internet with personal accessibility to big data.
Why should I travel from my computer at home, to another computer at work?
Culture: good/bad relationships at work
I do not want to see that colleague today.
People policy: meeting demands of flexible work/life
Childcare is closed! I need to be available to take care of my children today. I should be able to work from anywhere.
Evolving expectations of customer
Please deliver samples to me. Please do a Zoom call instead. Emails, please.
Home spaces: more conducive for work, and better coffee than the office pantry
It’s just more peaceful to work from home. Open offices are too distracting!
Awesome ad concept for Mitsubishi found on uplevo.com
Both people policies + processes and work space design need to work as one.
People policies and processes ensure both productivity and flexibility at work. They do this by balancing autonomy and discipline, culture and decorum. We should see the people policies + processes and work space design as if we are looking at a beautiful car chassis and the powerful engine under the car’s hood. If the business’s people policies are not in place (engine is not a good one), then you’re going to have swanky but empty office- a sleek and polished chunk of metal that is not fit for roads.
Long story short, businesses need to understand their goals first. With clear objectives, the bells and whistles of a grand looking office will start to make sense. If you’ve ironed out your business processes and your people policies, building that work place to support it will find it’s way back. And when they do, you know who to call:
Build Built
hello@buildbuilt.co
www.buildbuilt.co/commercial-forms
A workspace project designed by our team at Build Built
A workspace project designed by our team at Build Built
We preach about down-sizing work spaces to create more meaningful ones... so then, why is Build Built seeking for more space? Well, the new space will be our love gift to our pre-clients and current BBFam.
Community Classes - More sign-ups to learn, so more space is required!
Even with flexible work schemes in place, the BBfam prefers getting into the trenches together.
Build Built has a diversified team that is growing and requires boundaries - we have children too! 👪
Material Library - Giving our client a tactile experience
We have stages that require a more immersive customer experience (Co-Create Workshops)
A side effect of being in the business of space: we sometimes need to showcase, well, space.